# 15 minutes of fame

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/15-minutes-of-fame
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A very short time in the spotlight or brief flurry with fame, after which the person or subject involved is quickly forgotten.

## Examples

- He enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame after the video went viral.
- The reality star realized that her 15 minutes of fame were ending when the media stopped calling.
- Many internet sensations discover that their 15 minutes of fame evaporate as quickly as they arrived, leaving them to return to their ordinary lives.

## Origin

First appears c. 1968, although a use in French appears as early as 1821 in Histoire de l'Assemblée constituante by Charles Lacretelle. Often misattributed to Andy Warhol. Warhol is widely credited with saying:  "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes."  He first made versions of this remark in the late 1960s.  The earliest published version appears in:  1968 Exhibition catalogue for Andy Warhol: Statements Published by the Moderna Museet (Stockholm)  The quote was printed as:  "In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes."  Warhol repeated variations of the quote throughout the 1970s.

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